Located two hours from Oklahoma City, three hours from Ft. Worth, and even an hour from – also considered remote – Ft. Sill, Altus Air Force Base may seem too remote for any fun. But it’s a fantastic jumping off point for tons of day trips! Here are our five favorite day trips, easily visited from Altus.
Lawton
Lawton is the most obvious day trip – at only an hour away, it’s an easy way to mix it up without spending a ton of time in the car. While we often find ourselves heading to Lawton to run errands (hello, Target, pet stores, and clothing stores), it’s also a great way to squeeze in a date. Go see an IMAX and grab something for dinner you can’t usually find in town. Explore Ft. Sill: rent kayaks at the lake or see Geronimo’s grave.
Oklahoma City
This also makes for a great weekend away, but it’s close enough to have a great day trip too. Our typical OKC day trip includes a great lunch, spending a few hours at an attraction like the Cowboy Museum or Oklahoma City Museum of Art, running a few errands we can’t do locally, and finishing off with good dinner before heading back home.
Anadarko
Anadarko is only 90 minutes away and is a great place to visit to learn more about Native Americans in Oklahoma. Both the Southern Plains Indian Museum and National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians are in Anadarko. There’s also a winery that’s fun to leisurely explore the local offerings.
Medicine Park
Medicine Park may be our favorite day trip from Altus. It’s a sleepy tourist town nestled into the edges of the Wichita Mountains, the sort of places that harkens back to Route 66-style road trips of the ’50s. The homes are picturesque and the main street is dotted with cute stores and restaurants, but it’s small enough to explore on foot all day without wearing yourself out. If it’s warm, bring your swimsuit! The river has a swimming hole right off the path, making it the perfect spot to cool off!
Roman Nose
If you want a change of scenery from the closer outdoor options, drive two hours north to Roman Nose State Park. Named after the famous Native American, it has several great trails that cover a more hilly, forested terrain that we see in the southwest corner of the state. Make sure you call ahead though – they tend to close trails if there’s been heavy rain.
This is a great location if you want to extend your day trip into a weekend – they’ve got a bunch of camping options (including teepees) as well as a lodge inside the park.
Route 66
Route 66 cuts through Oklahoma, so if that’s your thing, there are a bunch of ways to experience it! Weatherford hosts the famous roadside diner Lucille’s, a rite of passage stop on the Mother Road. Elk City is another city worth checking out on the road and has a National Route 66 Museum. Just next door is the Old Town Museum, housed in a historic Victorian home. Both, along with the recreation of several shopfronts in the square, are cool little pieces of a forgotten era. It makes a great cheap day trip for adults and families.
These are just a few of the options for day trips out of Altus. What kinds of activities do you look for in a day trip?
Written by: Emma Myrick
